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T O P I C R E V I E W

Robert Pearlman

STS-1 / Space Shuttle Program 30th anniversary patch

AB Emblem is now offering a 4" embroidered version of NASA's STS-1 / Space Shuttle Program 30th anniversary insignia.

On April 12, 1981, astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen were launched on mankind's first reusable crewed spacecraft, Columbia. The orbiter, which many people think of as the "shuttle," lifted off like a rocket and landed like a plane. The two solid rocket boosters that helped push them into space were also reused, after being recovered in the ocean. Only the massive external fuel tank was destroyed as it fell back to Earth. It was all known as the Space Transportation System; their mission, STS-1.

The part number for this design is 176820.

The insignia was designed by NASA artist Sean Collins. In addition to patches, the logo will appear on lapel pins, decals, and t-shirts, as well as posters (see below).

LM-12

Nice patch - but the poster really should have listed the orbiters in the order that they flew.

KSCartist

I think Sean did a great job adaptng his "End of Program" design giving it new life for a wonderful tribute. Super Job Sean.

Jay Chladek

I can see what image they adapted for the patch and I can see some minor errors on it. Columbia didn't have the black HRSI tile patches on the fronts of the OMS pods for STS-1 and the shuttle in the image also doesn't have the distinctive black wing chines either. It should look like this (a quick and dirty alteration I just did):

If this design is still in development, I really think those two bits should be corrected before the production run starts (they are relatively minor corrections). But it is probably too late now if they have started production.

Mike Z

Also Columbia had more black tiles on the top of the vertical stabilizer and the Lee-side Temperature Sensing pod was attached to the top of it. (I had to look that up.) The patch's vertical stabilizer looks like the other shuttles. I might be nitpicking. It is a good looking patch.

Jay Chladek

The SILTS pod was not mounted until 1985 though during an OMDP refit, so it wasn't on STS-1. The tail TPS looks about right from this angle (and the patch embroidery made it a white tail anyway).

Original plans were for the SILTS pod to be removed after the sensor data was gathered during the next OMDP refit, but additional research work showed there wasn't really any problem in the long term for keeping the pod up there (and there might be a need for a future experiment to fly in that space) so it was left in.

dogcrew5369

I know it's not, but this could easily work as a second end-of-program patch since there isn't a mention of STS-1 on the patch. Very nice patch. Looking forward to getting this one.

GoesTo11

I have to say, I much prefer this to the official end-of-program patch, which I find too busy and "corporate"-looking. This patch is much more in tune with the broad aesthetic of mission patches that I've grown to love.

Robert Pearlman

In addition to the AB Emblem patch, Winco produced for NASA a lapel pin. On the back is inscribed:

The pins were distributed to Johnson Space Center employees at the center's STS-1 30th anniversary event and were offered for sale during the barbeque celebration at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (KSCVC also has it for sale through its online store).